On August 15, 1999 a boatload of 151 Chinese migrants landed on the West Coast. Since that time 141 have already been deported and the other 10 have been allowed to remain while their claims for refugee status are considered.

Doesn’t this sound great? This is how the system is supposed to work. Legitimate refugees are given opportunity to flee persecution from their country while those without serious claims are immediately sent back and required to go through the proper channels for immigration. Unfortunately the case I am referring to did not occur in Canada, it happened in the United States. Here in Canada, not one of the over 500 illegal Chinese migrants that landed on the B.C. coast in the last few months have been deported.

The problem is that we have an extremely ineffective immigration system and lax immigration laws. Our system is more for the immigration lawyers and bureaucrats who live off it. It has been suggested that 70% of migrants who claim refugee status never make it to their hearing. Instead they cross into the United States or disappear into Canada’s ethnic underground. The ones who do remain in our country, waiting for their hearing, end up costing the taxpayer a fortune.

An access to information request recently released exposed how much these illegal immigrants are costing our system. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has spent $1.9 million to provide food and lodging for the four boatloads of Chinese migrants that have arrived on the West Coast.

What needs to be done is create a process that deals with illegal migrants immediately and sends those who are not legitimate refugees back to where they came from. A three-step approach that should be taken:

1. Illegal entrants should be detained until their status is determined
2. Refugee hearings must be held expeditiously and once a decision has been rendered, Canadian officials must act immediately. Hearings should take place within days not months and years.
3. Bogus refugees should be deported immediately and those who are found to be legitimate refugee claimants should be offered assistance in establishing a new life in Canada.

This is becoming a serious problem in Canada. Last year alone 25,000 illegal migrants entered the country. If the government decided to take a strong stance on the issue, it would send the message to criminals involved in people smuggling and those who would use their services, that Canada will not continue to be an easy mark for illegal immigration.

Our government, however, has not taken a strong stance on the issue. Instead we are showing the rest of the world that Canada is the place to come if you are an illegal migrant. Until some action is taken to curb this problem, our Minister of Immigration might just as well be working hand in hand with the criminals that are smuggling these desperate people into the country. By not acting, our government has said to international people smugglers that Canada is their best partner in crime.

With 25 thousand illegal immigrants entering Canada every year, a huge strain is put on our immigration system. This severely delays the immigration process for legitimate migrants and refugees. Many recent immigrants have waited years to be reunited with family members and are feeling betrayed by the Canadian government for their lack of action against the illegal migrants.

Until our government decides to take action Canada will continue to be targeted by people smugglers. Our immigration laws are a laughing stock internationally and a makes us a target for organized crime. In other words Canada is encouraging criminals and discouraging immigrants who want to enter legally.

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